Giles Bland was born in England in 1647. His father was John Bland, who lived from 1612 to 1680, and Giles was the nephew of Theodorick Bland. People who knew Giles Bland knew him as “‘a man of good parts, of courage and resolution, [...] a man of strong parts, but of great passions, hearty, and imperious beyond bearing.’” Not much is known of Giles' childhood. He was mainly taken care of by his mother, and his father only cared about him during the “vintage times.”
As he grew older, Giles acquired a job as a Customs Collector under King Charles II. As the Customs Collector, Giles imposed the Acts of Trade with the Virginia Governor William Berkeley. However, he disdained any and all authority, especially the Governor, and never wished to reside in Virginia or be a part of any official position for the colony. All he wished to do was sell off a lot of the Bland lands in the colony, especially the lands owned by his relative Anne Bennett Bland. Although he was successful in selling off Kymages, Lawnes Creek, and Basse’s Choice between 1674 and 1676, Giles was unsuccessful in evicting his aunt from Jordan’s Point, Jamestown Lot, and Westover.
While working as the Customs Collector, Giles blatantly and openly boasted about disdaining Governor William Berkeley and Henry Norwood. Issues came to a head on October 3, 1674, after he became intoxicated with Thomas Ludwell, who tended to side more with Anne Bennett Bland. While excessively consuming alcoholic beverages, Giles and Ludwell talked about Giles’ issues with his aunt, and, after Ludwell told Giles about why he was sent to Virginia, Giles became immensely upset, wished to fight Ludwell, stole Ludwell’s boxing gloves, and hammered the gloves to the door of the State House in Jamestown. When the governor saw the gloves, Berkeley immediately placed a five hundred pounds sterling fine on Giles, but Giles ignored this fine and began to taunt the governor and the Council. Moreover, Giles penned a composition to the King that boasted how William Berkeley was incompetent to be Governor of Virginia. Also, to make matters even worse, Giles began to befriend Nathaniel Bacon. Giles knew that Bacon had an enormous dislike toward the governor, and he wished to team up with Bacon to make William Berkeley become even more annoyed. Annoyances came to a head once Bacon’s Rebellion transpired. However, when Giles decided to go after the governor once William Berkeley retreated to the Eastern Shore, a ship from the governor intercepted Giles, captured him, and hung Giles in the streets of Jamestown. Soon afterwards, Giles’ wife Frances Povey returned to England and had a son named John.
Map of Green Springs (From: encyclopediavirginia.org)
As people entered the western part of the Virginia colony during William Berkeley's rule, they did not care for his regulations and policies, especially with his regulations of the local Native American populations. These people longed for protection by the governor and his forces from groups who they believed were hostile towards them and their homes. However, no help came to the frontier of Virginia, where most of these people resided. This inaction by the governor continued for more than a decade, and the frustrations kept increasing, too. In addition, skirmishes with the Dutch, several powerful weather events, and a cow famine did not help matters and caused more financial hardship. Eventually, wooden forts were constructed to try and act as a shield, but these forts did not work because the governor did not allow the soldiers posted to murder the Native Americans, and the economic cost of building the forts was placed upon the frontiersmen. The payments went to those who constructed the forts as well as William Berkeley's Green Springs Gang.
Nathaniel Bacon on a Horse (From: Henrico.gov)
Nathaniel Bacon was of similar age to Giles Bland, and he loathed the higher ranking officials in Virginia. He resided upstream from Jamestown on the James River, and he resonated with his neighbors' complaints about Native Americans and lack of protection by the Governor. However, William Berkeley liked Bacon, since the Governor was Bacon's cousin, and the Governor's wife was best friends with Bacon's significant other. Due to the family ties, Berkeley put Bacon on the Governor's Council. By April of 1676, though, Bacon had had enough of Berkeley's ignorance, and he took up the task of representing his neighbors by putting pressure on the Governor to address the lack of protection from the Native Americans. At the same time, Bacon befriended Giles Bland.
When William Berkeley felt the pressure from Nathaniel Bacon, the Governor essentially ignored Bacon and refused to believe in Bacon's statements. Consequently, Bacon and his allies ruthlessly slaughtered any Native American in the surrounding area. While this act did result in Bacon getting kicked off the Council by the Governor, Berkeley decided that all Native Americans were bad and should be executed. When Giles Bland discovered that his friend had been sacked, he decided to pen a letter to Sir Joseph Williamson in England on April 28, 1676, that declared how, in his mind, the horribly the government in Virginia was functioning and how the Governor and his followers were inept and ineffective. To solve the problems, Bland suggested that the British Royal Government take complete control of the colony of Virginia. Unfortunately for Giles, the British Royal Government was indifferent of his request, thus no aid came from Britain.
Governor William Berkeley Challenging Nathaniel Bacon to Shoot Him (From: NPS.gov)
By May of 1676, elections were held. The group of people that were backed by Nathaniel Bacon and Giles Bland took part in the elections, and William Berkeley was consequently ousted. In June of 1676, Giles proposed a land tax to get rid of the need for a poll tax. Soon afterwards, Nathaniel Bacon gathered over five hundred of his supporters and led them to the Jamestown Court Yard. Once they arrived, Bacon insisted on receiving a commission from William Berkeley. In response, Berkeley became extremely enraged, ripped off his shirt, and demanded that Bacon slaughter him immediately. Bacon and his group did not wish to kill Berkeley, so they decided to retreat without obtaining any commission.
In July of 1676, an article entitled "A Remonstrance of the Overall Counties in Virginia" appeared. This article was created by people who disliked William Berkeley, and they looked to Giles Bland to pass on their article to Britain. Before sending it to Britain via Thomas Povey, Giles made the people sign the article in order to show Povey that they truly did not care for Berkeley. Unfortunately, the delivery of the article to the correct people in Britain took a long time, and this delay did not aid Giles' cause.
On August 1, 1676, after Nathaniel Bacon and his followers slaughtered more Native Americans, the rebellious man placed Giles Bland at the head of a three-hundred-person group that would control a miniscule cluster of ships that were stolen from William Berkeley and his soldiers. Their prime objective was to make sure a ship called "The Rebecca" did not leave the Virginia colony, and they wished to capture William Berkeley himself. While Giles' men were successful at taking Berkeley prisoner, they took the wrong ship named "The Rebecca," and the correct ship docked in England. Furthermore, Berkeley was one step ahead of Giles, and he purposefully let himself be surrounded in order to get Giles captured, and the Governor succeeded.
Nathaniel Bacon about to Burn Jamestown (From: NPS.gov)
A month later, on September 19, 1676, Nathaniel Bacon torched and destroyed Jamestown. However, a short while later, Bacon got the "Bloudy Flaux," and he passed away. Then, by October 26, 1676, his rebellion ended. In March 1677, Giles was found guilty of treason and hung in the courtyard of Jamestown. Although Berkeley succeeded in ridding himself of his nemeses, the King's commissioners discovered that the Governor utilized the colony as his private trough, so they suspended the Governor from any kind of leadership position.